Fullers Vintage Ale 2004

Formerly brewed at Fullers
Style: English Strong Ale
London, England

4th August 2008. Bottle 94057. Very complex aged ale. Caramel dominates the start but there is also a nice sherry flavour. A little milk chocolate in the mid plus red fruit you would find in a decent vintage port. Sumptuous and tasty.

568ml bottle (Pikkulintu, Helsinki)
Dry grainy aroma, really nutty. Soft carbonation. Very dry palate. Raisins in the taste accompany a rich malt with loads of dry nutty papers. Some plum too. Do add some of the sediment - it adds to the aroma and the taste - bumps up the fruitiness. The hoppiness is very bitter, and quite biting. The finish is dry and aged, and very very long. Great hoppy bite and great balance. And great raisins.

Bottle # . Pours a clear but very dark orange red, light glow, with a medium frothy bubbly grayish tan head. Aroma is strong oxidized malt, fruit, toffee, some integrated alcohol, nuts and figs, hint of chocolate. Flavor is delicious and much fuller than the aroma, chocolate covered toffee, lightly buttery, dried dark fruits, hint of grass, warming alcohol, pecans, fantastically aged, mellowed wonderfully, nuts and cherry aftertaste. Surprisingly not cloying, medium sweet and rich with a fair amount of bitterness. Medium bodied, creamier full mouthful but doesn’t feel heavy at all, smooth, viscous without stickiness, still has the perfect amount of carbonation, spread-out med/large tingly bubbles. The oxidation is fantastic.

(Bottle at Pikkulintu, Helsinki, on 2009-08-29) Deep reddish brown and clear. Small white head. Raisin, malts, dried plum and sweetness in aroma. Full bodied and dry palate with medium carbonation. Malts, raisin, lightly sweetness, bitterness, hint of roastedness and dried plum in taste. Malty, dry and bitter aftertaste.

Bottle from radiomgb. (bb Dec 31, 2007). Translucent copper with just a ring of head. Smells like a British barleywine; toffee, oak, dark fruit, dates, pepper - no scent of hops. Flavour is caramel-sweet, with candied fruit and more dates. Warming alcohol-fuelled finish. Feels thick and heavy in your mouth. Carbonation is low - likely due to age. I wish I had another.

Bottle #92711:
Deep copper coloured body with strong ruby highlights and a very thin tan head that fades very fast. Aroma of malt, toffee, yeast, light hops, alcohol, oak, vanilla and a bit of honeysuckle. Medium-bodied; Strong sweet flavour that goes down like a mellow barley wine, with large cherry flavours really coming through. Aftertaste has a bunch of complexity from oak, vanilla, yeast, toffee and a lot of mellow alcohol flavours. Overall, a nice and rather refreshing potent beer - definitely worth picking up a bottle and keeping it for a few years! I sampled this 50 cL bottle purchased in late 2006 at Norm’s in Vienna, Virginia, aged for three more years, then sampled at home in Washington on 19-June-2009.

With sincere thanks to HogTownHarry for sharing this vintage with me on his balcony pre-ballgame :-) Appearance: Light brown/murky orange with a small off white head. Aroma: Very toasty, dark fruit, hops, yeast, malt with pepper. Flavour: Strong alcohol, malt, bitter hops, dark fruit, quite a fruity and tangy finish. Lovely.

Bottle via trade. Pours a swamp water brown with a small beige head and some spotty lacing. Nose was a little boozy with some caramel, toffee, a hint of apricot and baking spices. Flavor was also a bit boozy with some candied apricots, sweet caramel and toasted malts. The brew was first sampled at about 35*, waayyy too cold. As the brew sat and warmed to about 55*, some of the fruit became more noticeable. The beer didn’t seen to be as balanced as other vintages I’ve tried.